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Read Part 1: "Why Aren't There Any Girl Theologians?" here.﻿Here’s why I would rather teach theology through life-on-life rather than off-the-shelf.And of course I think John Piper's writings are such a gift to the Church and I've greatly benefited from reading/listening to him and writers/speakers like him. I named my daughter after him, for crying out loud.

1) That’s how Jesus did it. Though he taught the 5,000 and spoke to crowds sometimes, the bulk of His ministry was through teaching the disciples. During the times of anchoring the boat and walking down the road and roasting fish is probably when the disciples learned from Him most.

2) It’s harder to fake.Public speakers might be able to get by with rattling off deep-sounding quotes and talking about something they hardly know about, but a mom (or a true life-on-life discipler) can't. I think you can test your comprehension of something by how well you can explain it to a child.

I learned this the hard way recently. Stephen was very curious as we watched the deacon set up communion before the weekly gathering, but even though I could mention scriptures on the topic and even compare Luther's vs Zwingli's views, I wouldn't have been able to answer many questions or share many stories about it. In my experience, communion is just not really a means of grace for me. But it was really important to Jesus so it should be valued by me as well! So, through trying to talk to a child about communion, I realized I should definitely deepen my theology in that area.

However, here's a more encouraging story. Our little family was eating near a lake that had a fountain in the middle. It wasn't a natural fountain, of course, but I figured then would still be a good time to explain what we mean when we sing "Come thou fount of every blessing" or "There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins." The concepts of Gods never-ending self-sufficiency and "all my springs are in You" from Psalm 87 are things I've thought a lot about. I have stories about this truth. I hold this theological concept dearly. Peter does too, and we were able to explain in simple terms to our son what we mean when we say Jesus is our source, the fountain of every blessing, the well from which we find life. That was one of the sweetest moments of explaining something to someone else ever, and I spoke mostly in one- or two-syllable words. What a gift from God!

3) Life-on-life tends to go unnoticed.God gives grace to the humble (James 4:6.) It's a lot easier to be humble when I'm not very well-known.

Last summer I posted an article for Christianity Today and it was shared on Facebook almost 5000 times. Pride was more of a struggle after seeing those kinds of numbers...until I realized that how the Lord is using me does't have anything to do with numbers. After even a couple days I was old news and I was just left wondering whether I actually helped anyone. I decided I probably don't want to do anything like that again; one conversation in my living room that nobody but the other woman and I might know about might be a great deal more life-changing than a somewhat-viral article I wrote...and the temptation to think more highly of myself than I ought wouldn't be nearly as present.I'm grateful for well-known teachers of scripture (I even mentioned some that really helped me), but I no longer covet their lifestyle or look to them primarily for helping me understand scripture.

4) Theologians on my shelf can't help my loved ones and the lost like I can.When my husband is struggling---be it with a bad mood or a deeper issue---he's not going to want me to throw a book at him. It's not enough to know where or who Peter should read. But already being well-versed in scriptures and knowing helpful explanations of the Bible from others? The value of that cannot be measured.Additionally, in every awesome conversation I've had with nonbelievers, I've pulled from what I've learned about God...and I wished I had been more prepared, too. Asking about someone's faith and being prepared to share how yours contrasts (and how it's better, because it is) is one of the most joyful and thrilling ways of having conversation with non-Christians. I've loved talking theology with Muslims, Mormons, and atheists. We don't need to try to keep it simple and rope them in with two diagnostic questions or four spiritual laws then bring them to church for the rest. I've heard Alvin Reid use the example of showing someone a screenshot from Lord of the Rings with Frodo at Mount Doom or sitting them down for the whole epic trilogy. They will most likely be much more interested in LOTR after the latter (and your affections for it will be further stirred as well...but I might be taking this illustration too far ;) )I thought that since we're not pursuing vocational ministry, the stuff I learned in Bible college or in my own studies wouldn't help me very much. But oh how wrong I was! And how much more do I need to study so I can serve my family with words fitly spoken!

In Conclusion Maybe one day (when I'm much older, wiser, and better educated) I will write my own systematic theology or something. Maybe one day I'll speak in conferences. I don't know. I often even question whether I'm really helping anyone by writing a blog.

Large-scale theologian-status isn't what I want anymore. I want to be like Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2:8:So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. (1 Thessalonians 2:8, ESV)

Now I'm beginning to see the immense value of being a spiritual parent more than a guide.What Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:15-16 is key:"For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me."

So what do I do with all this?

Humbly seek after God ever more! I want to be an excellent theologian (again, that's a relative term) for the sake of my family, my loved ones, my church, the world, and myself! And I want excellent theologians that I know (and that I don't know) to pour into me. May we press on to know Christ deeply and truly!﻿

“Female theologian.” “Woman theology blog.” “Female version of John Piper.” I remember being really frustrated when Googling these things about six years ago. I enjoyed having access to the writings and teachings of many people who have sought diligently to think deeply and truly about God...but all those people had been men.Was I as a teenage girl doing something wrong by being interested in these things? At the time, I didn’t know any other young women who listened to sermons for pleasure (a fact that made me either sinfully arrogant or sinfully insecure.) Would it be bad if I wanted to be a theologian when I grew up? What if, in a couple decades, it would be normal to walk through the commentary aisle at Lifeway and find a thick volume (with a lime green cover, of course) written by someone named “Hope”?

I don’t have rock-solid answers to those questions, but I have now found a much more desirable solution than trying to become Lady John MacArthur. And I’ve found that the disappointing Google results are misleading because most of the female theologians in the world are not going to be found on Google.Side Note: Everyone’s a TheologianJoshua Harris’s book Dug Down Deep really helped me understand that everyone, even the nominal Christian or atheist, is a theologian. A theologian is someone who has thoughts about God; every single person on the planet, I’d imagine, has some kind of an idea of what God is like. So the really important thing to determine is whether what I know about God is true. This means I need to read the Bible like a madman. This means I need to try to find commentaries and books and podcasts (and, in this season of my life, blogs) to help me understand the Bible better---as it’s meant to be understood.

But of course when I said “theologian”, I meant someone who is really into and has probably written/spoken about deep concepts about God. Also, when I use words like “a deep understanding of God”, I’m speaking very relatively. God’s greatness is unsearchable and no one can know the mind of the Lord, so even the deepest-level thinker about God is still at best beginning to comprehend the fringes of His ways.

4 Examples of Female-Theologian Roles

Through Parenting (and Grand-Parenting!)Lois and Eunace, mentioned in 2 Timothy, were absolutely instrumental in teaching the influential young man about what he knew of God. It was these two women, his mother and grandmother, who showed him that the Old Testament scriptures pointed to Christ. (See this helpful article.)Moms have such a unique privilege of showing our children truths about God...so we ought to be careful that what we’re teaching our children is true!

Through TeachingCharles Spurgeon credited a cook from his adolescence, Mary King, as the person who taught him theology: “Many a time we have gone over the covenant of grace together, and talked of the personal election of the saints, their union to Christ, their final perseverance, and what vital godliness meant; and I do believe I learnt more from her than I should have learned from any six doctors of divinity of the sort we have nowadays.”

Through LifeTo use a personal example, I have the privilege of knowing a dear friend from church who has children my age. She and I don’t meet at a regular, scheduled time but we try to get together at least once a month to catch up. Since I’ve known her, I’ve watched her walk through the sudden loss of her husband, and by the grace of God she has suffered really well. As she tells me of the Biblical truths that have upheld her through her pain and even through her mundane, I have grown so much. Her understanding of God is deep, so she speaks deeply to my soul. Oftentimes what she tells me will have a much greater impact than anything even John Piper can tell me, because I see her life and I see truths about God sustaining her.

Through Books, Blogs, and ConferencesThat’s not to say that I can’t grow from reading/listening to people I don’t know. Since that initial time of Googling female theologians several years ago, I have found that there are definitely some. Gloria Furman, author of Glimpses of Grace, stands out the most to me. I have grown so much through reading her deeply theological (yet relatable) posts on Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, or her own blog. When I attended the Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference in 2012, I saw that there are quite a few female expositors who have a lot of really helpful (even mind-blowing) things to say, and I pretty much recommend all of them.

ConclusionSo there are female theologians out there...even in the way I was hoping there were, like the women who spoke at TGC. But most of the female theologians in the world are unnoticed people that just do a good job of knowing and helping the people already in their lives...and that's why their impact is even greater than if they were well-known.

I’m pretty sure I was way too harsh with my grandmother when she sweetly suggested using paper napkins for Thanksgiving this year instead of cloth. She was just looking out for me; I was almost 9 months pregnant, confined to a wheelchair due to a broken foot, and we were expecting eleven people to be there. But no. I wouldn’t budge. Cloth napkins were a must. (Sorry again, Mammaw. Love you.)

Here are eight reasons I love using cloth napkins and I think you might want to consider using them too:

1. They are soft.They feel wonderful on my face and, I'd imagine, the faces of my guests. If you have to wipe off an embarrassing smudge of food, you may as well be comfortable.2. They are extremely cost effective.The only time I've spent money on paper napkins in three years was when we moved and my cloth napkins weren't accessible. With a couple user-error exceptions, all my napkins (of which many are hand-me-downs) are in excellent shape. Maybe I'll have to refresh my batch in ten years, but that's not bad at all.3. They're efficient for sopping up spills, messes, or condensation.Paper napkins just dissolve and the guilty party ends up making a scene and being embarrassed. Cloth napkins help make mess-cleaning subtle.4. They look classy and show that mealtimes are important and taken seriously.I only fold my napkins into a rectangle and they're basic cotton---no fancy embellishments---but when we sit at the table, even just for breakfast, I really think the table looks set. This communicates to my family and guests a) I'm glad you're here and you're worth my best, b) Mealtimes are important, and c) There is a clear beginning and ending to mealtimes and we all share the meal together.5. Cloth napkins are better for the environment.No paper waste!6. They don't take a lot more work.Cloth diapers, I'll admit, take a lot more work. I use disposables far more often than I’d like to because they're much easier. But cloth napkins are so low-maintenance that it's not even a question whether they're "worth it" to me or not, since I just add them to the dirty load of laundry and do a little extra folding. Each napkin takes three folds and about three seconds, by the way. If you add up a week’s worth of cloth napkins it takes about five minutes of extra labor. And it’s not even laborious.7. They're great starter chores.Folding napkins was one of my first chores. Setting the napkins on the table was another. I think it's a great, non-breakable way for little ones to learn responsibility and contribute to the family.8. They're timeless.Cloth napkins are wonderfully counter-cultural in our wasteful society. I wish to give Piper’s kids the cloth napkins my mom gave me so I can tell them, “These were used by your great-grandmother…”All my napkins are hand-me-downs, gifts, or homemade, but if you're starting from scratch I would recommend that you pay about $1/each and get 15-20. You want basic cotton napkins that would still look good mix-and-matched.What would you consider to be the benefits of cloth napkins? What’s keeping you from converting to cloth napkin usage?

Recently the four of us went to Disney on a couple of the coldest and rainiest days of the year. You might be thinking that we made the most of it and had a great trip anyway---we were at “The Happiest Place on Earth”, after all---but we did not. We were miserably grumpy almost the entire time. Smiles were scarce, and kind words were lacking. As we were driving back home in the nasty weather, scowling and seething, Peter broke the bitter silence with an enlightening thought:“I think the reason I was so upset during this trip is because I was expecting it to do more for me than it ever could.”He elaborated that, at least for him (though I was totally in the same boat), he hadn’t been finding satisfaction in Jesus so he was looking to a mini-vacation to fill that void. And it couldn’t. So he was angry.

Fast forward to a few days later. A couple of things had been piling up and I was mad at my husband. I threw myself a major pity party because I felt that he wasn’t leading well enough or studying the Bible enough or serving me enough. In my opinion he was on his phone too much and slacklining too much and eating snacks too much. (Wow, my “issues” look so much more petty in writing.) I was overwhelmingly furious that he can be selfish sometimes. Then he graciously pointed out to me what was happening in my heart. I was looking to him to meet all my wants and needs in ways he never ever could. These epiphanies reminded me of Deuteronomy 4:15,16 : “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure…”Moses was reminding the people of what happened in Exodus 32. Moses had been on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites grew impatient so they told their stand-in leader Aaron that he needed to make some gods to go before them. He proceeded to gather any gold they had, melt it, and fashion from it a golden calf. The Israelites then said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” and built an altar and worshipped. God was not pleased.These are the same people who had just been mightily delivered from slavery. They had seen plagues of frogs and they walked right through the Red Sea, for crying out loud. But I totally get them. The human tendency is to demand the tangible. They couldn’t see God’s form so they felt it necessary to make one up, thus incurring wrath.I do the same thing. It’s because I have forgotten all that I have in Jesus that I look to my husband or my kids or Disney to do things for me that they never can. It’s too much work to trust God when I can’t feel Him, so I put my hope in things that I can see.I must remember, however, that all these deep longings in my heart for peace and joy and acceptance cannot be met by someone who has those same longings (or something that was made by people with those same longings.) I make a golden calf out of my husband, who is neither savior nor lord, because I expect him to be those things for me.Sometimes it doesn’t feel like I’m idolizing something because I don’t even like it. Can I really be worshipping my husband in those moments when I’m really unhappy with him? Yes, because when I throw a fit that he’s not being everything I feel like I need him to be, I’m looking to my husband as god, rather than to the only all-powerful, all-knowing, all-sufficient, perfectly loving LORD. The gospel frees us from having unreasonable expectations of others because our satisfaction and confidence comes from the only One who has actually met every perfect standard.Only Jesus can say, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”This completely changes my day to day.

The gospel replaces my road rage with gratitude because I can hit all red lights and still say “God didn’t even spare His Son from me for my good; He will not keep any good thing from those who walk uprightly.” (Romans 8:32 and Psalm 84:11)The gospel opens me up to be with others even when I’m insecure because I can have a really embarrassing moment in front of important people and still say “Jesus presents me before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy.” (Jude 24)The gospel frees me up to serve because I can help ungrateful people and still say “My spiritual sacrifices are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, so I don’t need any kind of pleasant reaction from others.” (1 Peter 2:5)The gospel liberates me to calmly cherish my misbehaving children because I can receive a toddler’s angry glare and still say “I have peace with God through Jesus.” (Romans 5:1)The gospel grants me to remain cheerful with my friends because I can have a boring hangout and still say “I have fellowship with Christ and in His presence is fullness of joy.” (1 Corinthians 1:9 and Psalm 16:11)The gospel welcomes me to live simply because I can walk past a store with empty pockets and say “My greatest need is to be saved from the wrath of God, and Jesus has met that need; those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” (Romans 5:9 and Psalm 34:10)The gospel allows me to love my husband when he say something really hurtful because, even in my pain, I can say “I am precious and honored in God’s sight. My Bridegroom rejoices over me.” (Isaiah 43:4 and 62:5)So be encouraged, dear Christian, to remember the good news of Jesus every day. I’m not saying that preaching the gospel to ourselves every day will keep us from being unhappy; sorrow is not of the devil and even Jesus wept. But if our security is in Jesus, He will guard our hearts and minds when we’re tempted to fret (or be grumpy) and give us a peace that doesn’t make sense (Philippians 4:7.) What are some other ways the gospel frees us? There is benefit in discussion!

My name is Hope.

I'm 25, married to a former skater dude, and raising little people ages 5, 3, 1, and not-yet-born. I like lime green and sarsaparilla, and I wear my Crocs until they melt. (Florida problems.)Jesus is life.Read the About page for why I write on this blog.Feel free to contact me and let me know what's on your mind!